The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) is a leading charity in water safety urging families to be more aware of the risks associated with water and bath time. The charity’s warning comes as its latest Child Drowning Update reports that a total of 125 children have sadly drowned in the last 4 years, including 51 at home, with 2 out of 3 of the drownings that occurred at home occurring in the bath – and most children affected were under 5 years old. The most common factor leading to these drowning cases was a lack of adult supervision.
What Do Parents/Carers Need to Know?
Always keep young children within arms reach in the bath.
Always keep children under constant adult supervision in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, even for something as small as fetching the towel you forgot, take the child with you.
Never leave your child under the supervision of child siblings in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take the child with you.
Drowning can happen quickly and silently – in a matter of minutes. You won’t hear that something is wrong. You won't hear thrashing and a lot of noise.
Where Can Parents/Carers Seek Advice?
In response to the report findings, RLSS UK have launched a brand-new fun and engaging water safety awareness campaign named ‘Splash Safely at you Pad’, offering free hints, tips, and advice for families to help parents and carers alike learn more about the risks posed by bath time and how to stay safe.
Families can access the bath time safety resources here: https://www.rlss.org.uk/listing/category/splash-safety-at-your-pad
Parents and Carers can contact RLSS UK via their website: https://www.rlss.org.uk/
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